Fishing rod holder

ABSTRACT

A fishing pole or rod holder with an elongated body defining a receptacle or housing that is pivotally mounted at one end upon a vertical support. A lever pivotally mounted on the vertical support is designed to engage a projection on the body for adjustably positioning the body with respect to said support. The receptacle or housing is provided with a clamp for securing the fishing pole or rod therein.

United States Patent 1191 Friedgen et al.

1 1 Jan. 2, 1973 541 FISHING ROD HOLDER [76] Inventors: Arthur H.Friedgen, Omaha, Nebr. 68152; Warren R. Nohrenberg,

Omaha, Nebr. 68111 I [22] Filed: May 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 139,653

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.851,793, Aug. 21,

52 us. c1. ..24a/42,24s/291,24s/314 5.1 1m. (:1. ..A0lk 97/10 58 FieldofSearch ..24s/3s,39,40,41,42,43,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,761 11/1954 Carpenteret a1. ..248/316 R X 2,836,225 5/l958 Swenson ..248/397 2,981,509 4/1961Messenger et al. ..248/42 3,010,687 11/1961 l'lagberg ..24s/3s 3,145,0058/1964 Wester ..248/40 Primary Examiner-William H. SchultzAttorney-Kemon, Palmer & Estabrook 57 ABSTRACT A fishing pole or rodholder with an elongated body defining a receptacle or housing that ispivotally mounted at one end upon a vertical support. A lever pivotallymounted on the vertical support is designed to engage a projection onthe body for adjustably positioning the body with respect to saidsupport. The receptacle or housing is provided with a clamp for securingthe fishing pole or rod therein.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAI 2 ms saw 2 OF 2 INV EN'IOISArfhu'r H. F r/edgen Warren 1?. Nofirenberg BY W m ATTORNEYS FISHING RODHOLDER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This Application is acontinuation-in-part of our application Ser. No. 851,793 filed Aug. 211969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION clamp is utilized for securing the holder tothe gunwale or transom of a small row boat or the like. In manyinstances, the clamps employed a plurality of wing nuts or set screws,or in lieu thereof, a conventional type of C-clamp was often the meansused for securing the holder in place, thus, making for a cumbersomestructure. The prior art also discloses various and sundry ways andmeans for adjusting the portion of the holder that receives the butt endof the fishing rod with respect to the clamping structure. The use ofpins inserted into aligned apertures is often employed as are toothedsegments which have pins inserted therein and secured by wing nuts orthe like. It becomes readily apparent that such mechanisms do not lendthemselves to an easy and positive manner of adjusting or varying theangle of the holder of the fishing pole or rod with respect to itsclamping structure. The necessity of removing wing nuts and then pins inorder to change or vary the angle of the holder with respect to theclamping structure always poses the situation of where said nut or pinsmight be dropped in the water with the result that the entire holderthen becomes useless and of no value. Thus, in many instances, prior artdevices have been found to be rather cumbersome in their mode ofoperation and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a holderfor a fishing pole or rod having a vertical support that is insertableinto a pin type oarlock of a small boat and then readily clamped in saidoarlock. The holder is provided with a locking member to insure theretention of the butt end of the fishing pole or rod within said holder.In addition the holder is formed with disc like segmental portions thatproject radially outwardly from a side portion of the holder adjacent anend thereof. The disc like portions are pivotally connected to thevertical support and due to saidportion being formed on the housingbetweenthe center of the housing and an end the greater portion of theweight of the housing will be offset as regards the pivotal connectionof the housing to the support. This offsetting of the weight of the housstoprrlember that engages saidsupport. In addition to the foregoing alocking member is carried by the support and configured to engage thesegmental portions for varying the position of the holder relative tothe support.

DESCRIPTION OF THE. DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational view, with portionsin section, showing the fishing pole or rod holder of the presentinvention mounted in a pin type oarlock;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, with portions in section, showing theholder rotated through an angle of. from the position shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a portion of the holder shown in FIG. 1illustrating the clamping of a butt end of a fishing pole or rod in theholder;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the clamping means for angularlypositioning the holder with respect to its support, the view being takenon the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a modified form of holder embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, with portions in section, showing theholder rotated through an angle of 90 from the position shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a portion of the holder shown in FIG.5; and

FIG. 8 is an end view of the holder shown in FIG. 7.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1. and 2 ofthe drawings, there is shown a gunwale 10 of a conventional smallrowboat. The gunwale 10 is designed to carry and support a conventionaloarlock receptacle or holder 12 which is designed to receive and holdthe stem or shank of a conventional pin type oarlock, not shown. Theoarlock receptacle 12 has positioned therein, for free rotative movementwith respect thereto, the lower end portion of a vertically extendingtubular support member 14. The tubular support member 14 has affixedthereto an annular flange or collar 16 which engages the upper surfaceof the oarlock receptacle 12 for limiting or positioning the tubularsupport member 14 within said receptacle. The lower end portion of thetubular support member 14 is drilled and tapped in order to receive thethreaded shank portion 18 of a locking bolt member 20. The lower end ofthe bolt member 20 is provided with a transversely extending slot whichis designed to receive the end of a lever 22. The end of the lever 22 issecured in said slot by means of a pin 24 which enables the threadedshank portion 18 of the bolt member 20 to bethreaded into the end of thetubular support member upon rotative movement of the lever 22. Thelocking bolt member 20 is also provided elongated housing or receptacle30. The housing or receptacle 30 is designed to receive and support thebutt end of a fishing rod 32, as illustrated in FIG. 3, which fishingrod may be of the common pole type or it may be one equipped withacastingreel. While the housing 30 maybe of any desired shape such asrectan gular or circular in cross section, it has been shownfor purposesof illustration, as being of pentagonal configuration in cross section.it is to be noted that said housing 30 may be formed from a single pieceof material with the respective ends of said material abutting oneanother along the bottom of the housing with said ends being secured toone another by any suitable means such as welding. The ends of thematerial forming the housing 30 are designed to terminate in disc likesegments 34 that project radially outwardly from the housing. The disclike segments 34 are formed on the outer surface of the housing betweenthe center of the housing and one end thereof so that the segments areoffset from the center of the housing as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Thesegments 34 are maintained in face abutting relation with one another asthey are positioned between the legs 28 of the bifurcated end of thetubular support member 14. The segments 34 are secured to the legs 28,for pivotal movement with respect thereto, by means of a pin 36 so thatthe housing 30 is thus supported on the upper end of the tubular supportmember 14 and is capable of having a pivotal movement with respect tosaid support member through the medium of the pin 36. The disc likesegments 34 being offset from the center of the housing permit thehousing, due to its weight, to pivot about the pin 36 in a clockwisemanner when viewing FIG. 1 and this pivotal movement is further enhancedwhen a fishing rod or pole is mounted in the housing.

The tubular support member 14 has mounted thereon subjacent thebifurcated end portion, a handle 38 which is designed to lock orposition the housing 30 with respect to the tubular support member 14.The handle 38 is composed of a pair of parallel plate like members 40which are positioned in abutting relation with one another throughoutthe greater portion of their length. The members 40, adjacent one endthereof, are bent outwardly at substantially right angles with respectto one another to form segments 42, see FIG. 4. The segments 42 are thenbent backwardly upon themselves so as to define legs 44 that aredisposed in space parallel relation to one another and also in parallelrelation with respect to the plate like members 40. The legs 44terminate in a transverse connecting member 46, which together with thelegs 44 and segments 42 define a rectangular box like shape at one endof the handle 38. The box shaped end portion of the handle 38 overliesor encircles the tubular support member with the legs 44 being pivotallyconnected to said support by means of a pin or rod 48. The disc likesegments 34 are provided with a plurality of spaced slots 50, and saidslots are configured to receive the transverse member 46 of the handle38 so as to lock and position the housing 30 in one of a plurality ofpositions with respect to the end of the tubular support member 14. Atleast one of the segments 34 is provided with a projection 52, FIGS.land 3, which is designed to engage a leg 28 of the bifurcated end ofthe tubular support member so as to limit the movement of the housing 30and segments 34 in at least one direction with respect to the tubularsupport member 14. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the handle 38 is formedwith a depending arm 54 which is provided at its free end with aprotuberance 56 that is designed to engage the support member l4 so asto limit, in at least one direction, the pivotal movement of the handle38 about the pin 48.

The elongated housing or receptacle 30 is provided with means forlocking or securing the retention of the butt end 32 of a fishing poleor rod therein. The locking means consists of an elongated flap likesegment or member 58 which is formed in a surface of the housing byproviding a pair of spaced parallel cuts or slots 60 that extendinwardly from one end of the housing but terminate a slight distancefrom the other end of the housing. The flap like segment or member 58 isstill in effect, an integral part of the housing or receptacle 30 butdue to the cuts or slots 60, said segment or member is capable of havinga movement independently of the housing. The portion of the housing 30in which the flap like segment or member 58 is formed is also providedwith a pair of upstanding flange members 62 which have a lever 64pivotally connected thereto by means of a pin 66. Thelower end of thelever 64 is formed with a pair of camming surfaces 68 which engage thesegment or member 58 for forcing same inwardly of the housing 30 andinto engagement with the butt end of a fishing pole or rod.

In the use of the holder of the present invention, the locking boltmember 20 is removed from the lower end of the tubular support member 14by means of the lever 22, and then the lower end of the support memberis inserted into the oarlock receptacle 12 after which the threadedshank portion 18 of the locking bolt member 20 is rotatably mountedwithin the lower end of the support member until the annular stop member26 as well as the annular collar 16 are bottomed to insure the retentionof the vertical support member in the oarlock receptacle. The positionof the vertical tubular support member 14 may be readily changed withinthe oarlock receptacle 12 by simply loosening the locking member 20 bymeans of the lever 22 and then rotating the support member to anydesired position after which the bolt member 20 may be clamped intolocking position upon rotation of the lever 22. The butt end of afishing pole or rod may then be inserted into the housing 30 and clampedtherein by rotating the lever 64 about the pin 66 so as to force theflap like segment or member 58 down into engagement with the butt end ofsaid pole or rod. With the fishing pole or rod positioned within thehousing or receptacle 30, said housing and fishing rod or pole may thenbe positioned in one of a plurality of angular positions with respect tothe vertical support member 14 simply by moving the handle 38 about thepin 48 so as to draw the transverse member 46 out of one of the slots 50and then moving the housing 30 about its pivot pin 36 so as to changethe angular position of the housing 30 with respect to the verticalsupport member 14. The weight of the housing with the fishing pole orrod therein is such that the housing 30 will tend to move about itspivot pin-36in a clockwise manner, FIG. 1, and will continue to so moveuntil the stop 52 engages the vertical support 14 unless the transversemember 46 of the handle structure is inserted into one of the slots 50.This pivotal movement is due to the disc like segments 34 being offsetfrom the center of the housing and the fact that the pivot pin 36extends through said segments. The entire fishing rod holder may beformed from any suitable material such as metal or plastic, and from thestandpoint of metals, stainless steel has been found to be verysatisfactory.

The modified holder shown in FIGS. 5 through 8 is similar in mostrespects to the holder shown in FIGS. 1

' though 4 and like parts have been identified by the same referencenumerals. The locking handle 38 shown in FIGS. 5 through 8 is formed asa unitary element from a single piece of material that is bent or soconfigured as to form a first horizontal portion 70, FIG. 8, which ispivotally mounted in the vertical support 14 subjacent the legs 28. Oneend of the horizontal portion 70 is bent upwardly and forwardly, FIG. 7,to define an inclined segment 72 that terminates in a horizontal part 74that is parallel to the horizontal portion 70. The horizontal part 74terminates in an inclined section 76 that is bent backwardly andslightly upward and which section terminates in a vertically extendingmember'l'8 which maybe slightly bowed so as to project alongside of andslightly above the housing 30.

The horizontal part 74 is similar to the transverse connecting member 46of the handle 38 in that said part 74 engages the slots 50 in the disclike segments 34 V to position and lock the housing 30 in variouspositions with respect to the vertical support 14. A coil spring 80 isconnected to the horizontal part 74 of the handle structure and also tothe pin 36 to insure that the handie is spring biased to a lockingposition with the part 74 being positioned within one of the slots 50.In order to change the position of the housing 30 with respect to thesupport 14 the vertical member 78 of the handle structure must havesufficient force applied thereto to overcome the retentive action of thespring 80 and permit the horizontal part 74 to be moved out of one slot50 and then into another slot 50. The projection 52 acts as a stopmember in engaging one of the legs 28 to restrict the movement of thehousing 30 about the pivot pin 36 which movement is occasioned by theoffsetting of the outwardly radial projecting disc segments 34 from thecenter portion of the housing 30 in the manner as shown in FIG. 2 and 6.

The offsetting of the disc like segments 34 and the weight of thehousing 30 cause the housing to move about the pivot pin 36 in aclockwise manner, when viewing FIG. 6, so in order to restrict thismovement and to be certain that the housing does not move below ahorizontal position, FIGS. 5 and 7, the projection 52 acts as a stop inengaging one of the legs 28. If the ho]- ders were mounted in an oarlockof a boat as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and the handle was actuated to movethe horizontal part 74 out of one of the slots 50 the weight of thehousing 30 and its offset mounting would result in a rotation of thehousing about the pin 36 to a position wherein the housing would bepointed downwardly at such an angle that. it would be impossible toinsert the butt end of a fishing rod or pole into said housing. Thisexcess movement of the housing is prevented by the projection 52 engageone of the legs 28.

The housing 30 has a segment removed from a sector thereof, FIG. 5 and7, and replaced by a flexible o'r resilient like member 58. The member58 has one end 82 affixed to a portion of the housing by welding or thelike, FIG. 7, with the greater portion of said member being forcedinwardly of the housing by.camming surfaces 68 in the lever 64.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailedcharacter in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it isto be understood that the specification terminology is not intended tobe restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of partsand modifications of detail may be resorted to without departing fromthe scope or spirit of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A fishing rod holder comprising a tubular support and an elongatedhousing, said housing having radially extending disc like segmentsformed on aside thereof intermediate the center of and an end of saidhousing, said disc like segments being arranged to project outwardlyfrom the side of said housing, said disc like segments arrangedinface-to-face engagement with one another to form a unitary elementwhich is pivotally connected to an end of said support, stop means onsaid disc like segments adapted to engage said tubular support tonormally retain the longitudinal axis of said housing in a planesubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said support,said disc like segments having a plurality of spaced slots formedtherein, a handle pivotally connected to said support subjacent thepivotal connection of said disc like segments to said support, saidhandle havinga portion projecting outwardly from said pivotal connectionand engaging one of the slots in saiddisc like segments for angularlypositioning said housing with respect to the longitudinal axis of saidsupport.

2. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 wherein the surface ofsaid housing opposite said radially projecting disc like segments isprovided with a resilient member of a length approximating that of saidhousing and said housing has means thereon engagable with said memberfor moving said member inwardly of the housing to engage and insure theretention of a fishing rod in said housing.

3. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said support hasan annular flange affixed to its lower end portion for positioning saidlower end portion in an oarlock receptacle of a boat, said lower endportion being internally threaded to receive an end of a locking boltmember that is formed with an annular collar that cooperates with saidannular flange in locking said support in said oarlock receptacle, alever pivotally connected to the other end of said locking bolt memberfor moving said locking bolt member into and out of said support.

4. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said handle isformed as a unitary structure from a single piece of material and havinga pair of horizontal portions arranged in spaced parallel relation toone another and joinedtogether by an inclined segment, one of saidhorizontal portions being pivotally mounted in said vertical support andthe other horizontal portion engaging said slots in said disc likesegments.

5. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 4 wherein a spring member isconnected to said other horizontal portion and to the pivotal connectionof said disc like segments to said vertical support.

6. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 4 wherein said otherhorizontal portion terminates in an inclined section that projects in adirection opposite ,to said inclined segment and on the opposite side ofsaid vertical support and which terminates in a member that extends in aplane parallel to the plane of the vertical support.

7. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 wherein said handleincludes a pair of contiguous parallel plate said housing is of apentagonal configuration in cross section with a pair of spaced parallelslots extendingfrom one end of the housing and terminating short of theopposite end to define a resilient member which is engaged by thecamming surface of a lever pivotally mounted on the housing for movingsaid member to engage and retain a fishing rod in said housing.

l III

1. A fishing rod holder comprising a tubular support and an elongatedhousing, said housing having radially extending disc like segmentsformed on a side thereof intermediate the center of and an end of saidhousing, said disc like segments being arranged to project outwardlyfrom the side of said housing, said disc like segments arranged inface-to-face engagement with one another to form a unitary element whichis pivotally connected to an end of said support, stop means on saiddisc like segments adapted to engage said tubular support to normallyretain the longitudinal axis of said housing in a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said support, said disc likesegments having a plurality of spaced slots formed therein, a handlepivotally connected to said support subjacent the pivotal connection ofsaid disc like segments to said support, said handle having a portionprojecting outwardly from said pivotal connection and engaging one ofthe slots in said disc like segments for angularly positioning saidhousing with respect to the longitudinal axis of said support.
 2. Afishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 wherein the surface of saidhousing opposite said radially projecting disc like segments is providedwith a resilient member of a length approximating that of said housingand said housing has means thereon engagable with said member for movingsaid member inwardly of the housing to engage and insure the retentionof a fishing rod in said housing.
 3. A fishing rod holder as defined inclaim 1 wherein said support has an annular flange affixed to its lowerend portion for positioning said lower end portion in an oarlockreceptacle of a boat, said lower end portion being internally threadedto receive an end of a locking bolt member that is formed with anannular collar that cooperates with said annular flange in locking saidsupport in said oarlock receptacle, a lever pivotally connected to theother end of said locking bolt member for movinG said locking boltmember into and out of said support.
 4. A fishing rod holder as definedin claim 1 wherein said handle is formed as a unitary structure from asingle piece of material and having a pair of horizontal portionsarranged in spaced parallel relation to one another and joined togetherby an inclined segment, one of said horizontal portions being pivotallymounted in said vertical support and the other horizontal portionengaging said slots in said disc like segments.
 5. A fishing rod holderas defined in claim 4 wherein a spring member is connected to said otherhorizontal portion and to the pivotal connection of said disc likesegments to said vertical support.
 6. A fishing rod holder as defined inclaim 4 wherein said other horizontal portion terminates in an inclinedsection that projects in a direction opposite to said inclined segmentand on the opposite side of said vertical support and which terminatesin a member that extends in a plane parallel to the plane of thevertical support.
 7. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid handle includes a pair of contiguous parallel plate like memberswhich are separated at one end and configured to form a rectangular boxlike shape which encircles and is pivotally connected to said support,said box like shape having one end of an arm affixed thereto with aprotuberance formed on the other end of the arm for engaging saidsupport to limit movement of the handle in a least one direction withrespect to said support.
 8. A fishing rod holder as defined in claim 1wherein said housing is of a pentagonal configuration in cross sectionwith a pair of spaced parallel slots extending from one end of thehousing and terminating short of the opposite end to define a resilientmember which is engaged by the camming surface of a lever pivotallymounted on the housing for moving said member to engage and retain afishing rod in said housing.